On PA TV, Fatah official denies mentioning Israeli sovereignity at the Western Wall

Official Palestinian Authority TV
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June 5, 2017

Official PA TV interviewed Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub about his interview with Israeli TV Channel 2 on June 3, 2017, in which he said the Western Wall will remain "under Jewish sovereignty"

Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub: "We believe - and I also believe this and it is a decision that has passed all of the frameworks of [Palestinian] leadership, in [Yasser] Arafat's period and also today - that East Jerusalem will be under the full sovereignty of the Palestinians to the last centimeter, and our capital will be East Jerusalem, although Jerusalem will be open to all of the religions. We believe that there are three religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - and there will be freedom of worship. Now there is a discussion on the matter. I tell you, sir, it was a long interview [on Israeli TV], 36 minutes of which they released 12 minutes, and it is clear that several of the central points [were cut] in editing... I'm not saying that they falsified. I said what I said. However, there was a question [that did not appear]. She (i.e., interviewer Rina Mazliah) asked me about the [US] embassy which was not transferred [to Jerusalem], and I said that 'this is a message to you (i.e., the Israelis) that this man (i.e., US President Donald Trump) is not in the pocket of your right-wing, and a message to us that even though he did not mention the right to self-determination and two states, there is a message here [of support for the Palestinians]. The second issue is that When he [Trump] went to the Wailing Wall, he went alone, and did not agree that any one of you [Israelis] would come (sic., Western Wall Chief Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz accompanied him). That's also a message to you, even though it's holy to you.' She [interviewer Rina Mazliah] asked: 'Will you agree to Israeli sovereignty [there]?' I told her: 'No way. If Trump doesn't recognize your sovereignty there, I'm supposed to agree?' Of course this part - "PA TV host: "Was left out..."Jibril Rajoub: "Her question [did not appear], but my response clearly says that he went alone. [She then asked:] 'Okay, so what about the Temple Mount?' When they say the Temple Mount, they mean the Al-Aqsa Mosque and [its] plazas and the Al-Buraq [Wall] (i.e., the Western Wall of the Temple Mount). I told her: 'Don't talk about this matter, unless you want to cause an explosion. This is a status quo that has existed since 1967, and [former Israeli Minister of Defense Moshe] Dayan agreed to it.' They pray at the Western Wall, and do not pray on the mount or approach the mount, and the Waqf is managing it'...
The city [of Jerusalem] will be open, and I say to you there will be freedom of worship.
What I said is: 'Jewish religious supervision.' I am issuing a challenge, even in the transcript, is it written that I said 'Israeli sovereignty,' even in the written text that was published, or that I mentioned the word 'Israel' (in the filmed interview Rajoub clearly says 'Jewish sovereignty' in Hebrew -Ed.). She tried to ask me twice, and I answered her."Click to view videoClick to view bulletin

In Rajoub’s interview with Israeli TV Channel 2 on June 3, 2017, Rajoub said: “[Trump] went to the Western Wall, and we understand that it is a holy site for the Jews, and in the end it has to be under Jewish sovereignty. We have no argument with that." The interview was filmed.

The Al-Buraq Wall Islam's Prophet Muhammad is said to have rode during his Night Journey from Mecca to "al aqsa mosque", i.e., "the farthest mosque" (Quran, Sura 17), and there tied his miraculous flying steed named Al-Buraq to a "stone" or a "rock." (Jami` at-Tirmidhi, Book 47, Hadith 3424). In the 1920's, Arab Mufti Haj Amin Al-Husseini decided to identify the Western Wall of the Temple in Jerusalem as that "rock" or "stone," and since then Muslims refer to the Western Wall as the "Al-Buraq Wall."

Jibril Rajoub also holds the following positions: Head of the PLO Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs, Chairman of the Palestinian Football Association, Chairman of the Palestine Olympic Committee, and Chairman of the Palestinian Scout Association (PSA).